Getting Ready to Go

Ok, we are now only 5 and a half weeks away from leaving. Group 1 will be leaving three weeks from Saturday. I am almost totally ready to leave. I got all of my shots (with the exception of 1) last Thursday. It was not any fun, and I was being a huge baby before, during, and after getting them. I also felt as horrible as I could possibly feel on Friday because I had a small case of Yellow Fever because they gave me the live virus. I was nervous that the airport would not let me on the plane to the Kentucky Derby on Saturday because they thought that I had the Swine Flu, but they didn't really seem to care.

I met many awesome people in Kentucky during and after the Derby. I actually had many conversations about Uganda and people were very interested to hear about what I am doing this summer. As a side note, for anyone that had never been to the Kentucky Derby, I HIGHLY recommend going. It is worth any amount of money that you will spend, and the experience it unforgettable..... well I already forgot about some of it, but that is another story.

In preparing for Uganda we are also asked to do some requird reading. I am just about finished with the first book, "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" and it is really good. It basically is about how the United States has persuaded countries to hire them to modernize their country. The country would then take out "loans" from the U.S. to pay our construction companies, and never be able to pay us back. Therefore the countries will be forced to "owe" us and we would use that for whatever we needed (or wanted) and basically own the country. I still have one more book to go, and seeing as I am a very slow reader, I will probably need to start right away.

Last weekend was Invisible Children's "The Rescue" event, and I attended the Boston Rescue. After 6 or so days Chicago was finally rescued by Oprah, meaning over 100 cities across the world were successful in getting rescued by either the media, a local or national celebrity or someone from the government.

Hopefully these last 5 weeks of school fly by and dont drag. It is very difficult coming back to school after a weekend at the Kentucky Derby and only having 5 weeks to go before going to Uganda, but I am sure they will go quickly. Also, The Killers concert is Saturday and the Third Eye Blind concert is Sunday, so this might be the best weekend of my life.

Finally, if you have not yet been to the Invisible Children web site please check it out and look around. Thats all for now. - Ryan

www.invisiblechildren.com

Hi all. As most of you know, this summer I will be embarking on my adventure to Uganda. I will be volunteering with the organization “Invisible Children. “ Last October I stumbled upon the website www.invisiblechildren.com and was amazed at what I saw. I purchased a few of their videos about the children in Northern Uganda, and what life is like in the war-torn area.

I brought these videos into my classroom to show my students. They could not believe what children their age were going through. Many of my students went online when they got home and showed their families the website. A few even purchased some of the other videos and brought them in to show the class. We talked for many days about what is being done to help the people in Northern Uganda, and we talked in great length about how Invisible Children is playing a monumental part in restoring the area. After seeing how interested and generally concerned these kids were for the people in Uganda, I decided to see what more I could do to help. Once I read about the Teacher Exchange program I immediately knew that I wanted to apply for the program. I sent in the application (on the day it was due) and a few weeks later got the call that I was accepted into the program and would be going to Uganda in June.

I started this blog to keep everyone informed about not only what I was doing in Uganda, but also for everyone to become educated on what is happening there. There will be about 40 teachers spending six weeks in Uganda this summer. We are traveling in three groups, each leaving two weeks apart. Before we go, we are required to “raise” $4,000 to pay for the trip (airfare, lodging, food, etc.) I have already paid for half of the trip and will be trying to raise the other half through donations. Any donations would be greatly appreciated by both myself, and the Ugandan children. Any money that is raised over the amount of $4,000 will go directly to Invisible Children (there is a link below to donate securely through paypal.) Please do not feel obligated to make a donation, but it would be wonderful if you could take a few minutes to check out the website and the cause we are supporting. Feel free to ask me any questions you have about Invisible Children, or Northern Uganda in general.

I will try to write an entry every day I am in Uganda (mainly to ensure my parents that I am still alive), and if you know me, which I am sure many of you do, you will all be highly entertained this summer reading about my adventures. Thank you very much for reading this, and for your support, and I will keep you updated with any news.
- Ryan J.

http://www.invisiblechildren.com/theMission/Teachers_Exchange